Graphic Design Bookshelf

Information design pioneer Edward Tufte sums up the ever-increasing relevance of graphic design to our times with his observation that “clutter is a failure of design, not an attribute of information.” In the golden age of paraphernalia, it falls to the graphic designer to clarify the clutter, and the ability to compose visual and linguistic data so that it grabs both eye and mind determines the success of just about every merchandized product, from a flyer in the mailbox to the web. Historically, graphic design has also defined the look of entire avant-garde art movements and even whole eras, through album art and movie posters. Below is a selection of our finest monographs and surveys on graphic design, from modernist Italian travel posters to web design.

The featured image is taken from Beauty Is in the Street, a fantastic compendium of posters made by the Atelier Populaire during the uprisings in May 1968, in Paris. The caption in the poster reads: "Will he be unemployed?" Beauty Is in the Street is edited by the collector, editor and curator Johan Kugelberg, and original Atelier Populaire member Philippe Vermès. It is published by Four Corner Books.